Cecioni said, "the last thing I want is to have trouble with Italian or American authorities. I have strong contacts, especially with the Italian ones, and they help me to respect all the rules." An Italian foreign ministry source said it is customary to keep contact with everyone who has ties to countries under sanctions, to ensure they respect Italy's international commitments.
In September, Cecioni said that he had no plans to shut down his operation. "I consider it very important to let people know that ... North Koreans do not make only bombs but also art and are common people," he said. He postponed an exhibition of propaganda posters he had planned for September in Treviso, but said this was because Mansudae's representatives told him they thought it unwise to showcase their anti-U.S. tone in the current climate.
Word of the sanctions has been slower to reach China. A circular from its Commerce Ministry announcing the start date of the measures which included Mansudae Art Studio does not name Mansudae. Asked why not, the ministry did not respond.
The Dandong center works in partnership with Mansudae, said its manager, Gai Longji. Asked on the day the sanctions took effect if they were affecting business, he did not answer directly.
"We don't do politics," he said. "We do art." Liaoning Sanyi, the firm behind the center, did not respond to a request for comment.
White Tiger
Reuters spoke to at least 30 experts - collectors, art historians, academics and people who have sold North Korean art globally. Many said the market for paintings is niche and amounts to little in terms of revenue compared with the billion-plus dollars North Korea has raised every year selling coal and other minerals abroad.
Even so, they say North Korean diplomats in Europe have been enthusiastic to promote art exhibitions with the simple aim of bringing in hard currency.
In China, demand has really taken off. Dandong is a popular attraction for tourists who come to peep at North Koreans over the Yalu River border. Busloads of tourists show up every morning. Visitors sample a North Korean speciality of noodles in cold soup, watch North Korean women sing and dance, and buy North Korean paintings.
Besides Mansudae, just about every ministry and almost all the local authorities in North Korea have an art studio, said Koen De Ceuster, a lecturer in Korean studies at Leiden University who has been studying North Korean art for over a decade. "There's studios all across the country," he said.